Treacherous
by TheBitterAftertaste
Summary: When Vesper wakes up in hospital to find she nearly died in the crumbling building, she thought she'd lost everything, including the love of her life- but the question is can James forget her so easily?
1. Chapter 1

Treacherous

A/N: Currently writing on a bus…don't ask. Craving a VesperXJames at the moment so this is what's happening. Once again influenced by Taylor Swift (my ultimate muse it has been decided) I hope you enjoy it.

***  
_**Two headlights shine through the sleepless night,**_

_**And I will get you, get you alone,**_

_**Your name has echoed through my mind,**_

_**And I just think you should, think you should know,**_

_**That nothing safe is worth the drive,**_

_**And I will follow you, follow you home.**_

Poison. That was what she felt coursing through her veins. That was what he did to her; that was exactly how she felt. Like poison.

She was lucky to be alive; she knew that, she had been told by all the doctors who had managed to revive her. But lucky was the last thing she felt right then. She was a traitor; she had betrayed herself, her profession and more than anything, she had betrayed the man she loved more than anything or anyone else, and now to top it all off she was laid in a hospital bed with a drip of morphine flowing through her bloodstream, and couldn't move for aching. The strong drug made her feel fuzzy; a sort of numb feeling, like she wasn't in control of her body and that was something she really didn't like.

Seeing as her thoughts were the only things she could really focus on; she allowed herself to think on the past few days. She had been out cold for a week having swallowed too much water. They didn't think she would wake up actually, and were trying to contact her family in order to switch off the life support machine she had been dependant on. _Good luck with that_ she thought dryly. She hadn't had a family since she was six years old and her dear Father murdered her Mother in front of her before hanging himself. _Chronic Depression. _Chronic depression her ass- she wasn't one of those who completely denied the existence of any mental disorder or illness, but her Father didn't have chronic depression at all. He was a drunk. An Alcoholic. A wife beater. A monster of a man whom Vesper often felt ashamed as to have come from the same gene pool as. She had blocked all that away now anyway; at least she thought she had. After many compulsory counselling sessions in order for her to relieve her emotions about what she had seen _(and those sessions ridiculously failing)_ she had learnt to block the memories from flooding back to her. But sat now in a sterile white room, no other source to grasp her attention, she mentally stood and took a trip through her memories. Some happy, _many_ painful, upsetting…_lonely_. She supposed she compensated her parents death by building a suit of armour, something that no-one was ever going to break through, well… at least she thought.

Her thoughts took her to a place… or rather a _person_ she didn't particularly want to think about; it had been painful, far too painful to live through once; yet the recurring nightmares that left her shaking, with sweat dripping from her brow; and that was whilst she was unconsciously thinking about him.

_James Bond_, the one person that both frustrated and amazed her. The man she could hate yet adore at the same time. She didn't think that anyone she had ever met could ever make her feel so much at one moment. She thought about their first meeting on the train to Montenegro.

"_**So as charming as you are Mr Bond, I will be keeping my eye on our governments money, and off your perfectly formed arse…" She had told him firmly, already setting the ground rules in preparation.**_

"_**You noticed?" He had smirked, and that smirk had made her want to slap it right off his face, and kiss him so hard he had to respond at the same time. **_

"_**Even accountants have imagination."**_

She couldn't believe how things had dwindled so quickly, she knew she was at fault for what she had done to him; she had broken him down, probably made him a cold shell of a man; something she definitely wasn't proud of. She had been in a relationship with another man, a man who in turn had abandoned her, refusing to come see her and basically telling her she was a number in a long line of women. It was ironically funny really; she had been worried about becoming one of James' disposable pleasures when really she should have been looking closer to home. She wasn't even upset with Yusef, she was furious at herself for risking her life in order to protect a man who had quite literally fucked her over. She'd risked her happiness and _lost_ in order to protect a man who had abandoned her when she could have been with a man she truly loved, a man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. But that was over now.

Vesper slowly sat up, ignoring the strain and ache in her still exhausted muscles and made her way over to the window; observing the scene outside. It was stunningly bright; of course it would be she was still in Venice after all. That was another thing she had to sort out. Living arrangements. She assumed James thought she was dead, as she had been brought in alone and even if he hated her after her betrayal, he would've come in the ambulance with her, he was that sort of person and that was another thing she absolutely loved about him.

She didn't know how long she had been staring outside the window; the early morning sunshine had quickly turned to dusk and yet she hadn't moved from the spot she had resided in earlier. No-one had come to see if she was alright, and she knew she wouldn't have any visitors as she didn't connect with people like that. It was only when she heard a voice did she turn around, her heart racing fiercely in her chest.

"Back from the dead I see." James muttered, his arms folded and his face showing no expression whatsoever. She had a lot of explaining to do. _And she didn't even know where to start._

Okay guys this was the first instalment, if you liked it please leave a review, even if you didn't tell me what I could do to improve, I really hope you enjoyed it. Love xx-HMLS-xx


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A/N: Can't believe I got such a positive response! Thank you so much guys I really appreciate it, so the next chapter is here. Just letting you know I was originally xx-His-Most-Loyal-Servant-xx but decided to change to TheBitterAftertaste to save any confusion!

Vesper automatically felt her heart in her mouth as she turned around, _far_ too quickly for it to be comfortable for her but she didn't care. He was here, the man she had loved, the man she still loved, but the man she betrayed in order to save a liars life. A liar that turned out didn't even need to be saved.

"James…" She whispered staring into his steely blue eyes. She was unable to say anything else at that moment in time. She never thought she was going to see him again, she kind of figured that after the incident M would have pronounced her dead in order to keep James focused on upcoming assignments and missions.

"Sit down." He said coldly, but she could tell he had a tinge to his voice, and knew she must have hurt him. The night they spent in Venice he had told her a lot about himself, about his past and who he was, things that he hadn't told anyone.

"James I-" She started but he quickly interrupted.

"I said SIT DOWN!" He barked quickly pulling a gun out of his pocket and aiming it straight at her, she wasn't surprised he had done it; after all she was a traitor. Yet she knew better to test him and slowly walked to the bed she resided on and sat down upon it as he walked over, still leaving space between them.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you." He hissed keeping the gun locked on his target, though Vesper could see his usually steady hands tremble as she glanced at them before looking back at him and clearing her throat.

"I…I can't give you a good reason, I know what I have done is terrible, and I'm sorry I hurt you so badly. It wasn't my intention; trust me it was the opposite." She told him looking back up into his eyes once more. "I'm not proud of what I did to you, but I would do it all again to protect you." She added. James looked beyond confused, he didn't know what the hell she was saying, as far as he was concerned she had taken the money he had won from the poker game and used it in order to set free her boyfriend whom she was _oh so in love with._

"You lied to me Vesper; you lied to everyone without a care so why should I believe you now." He snapped, though lowered his gun much to her relief. She had a lot of explaining to do and she knew it, and maybe one day he would be able to forgive her for her treachery.

"Just because I wanted to save Yusef, it does not mean everything I said was a lie." She said quietly before continuing. "The night you beat Le Chiffre and he tortured you, I was told that Quantum were keeping him held hostage, and if I didn't deposit the winnings he would die, and so would you." She informed him. "I know how it looked, and I think they set that up deliberately but James I never lied to you…I wanted to travel round the world with you and I wanted to be with you- but I couldn't let Yusef die all for my happiness. I knew I had to betray you in order to release him and it was the hardest thing I've ever had to do." She whispered tears rising in her eyes as she looked at the floor. "I will never forgive myself, but I locked myself in that lift because I knew I couldn't live with what I'd done, but it was foolish and cowardly of me, and I should've just told you what was happening." She mumbled.

James looked quite taken aback by her confession, he hadn't been expecting that; all M had told him was she was dead and she had taken the money in order to save her boyfriend, implying he had been used as a pawn in order for her to keep Yusef alive.

"Where is Yusef now? Is he here?" James asked quietly, unable to stop the bitterness in his tone. He couldn't help it. He had never been jealous before in his life but just thinking of another man with Vesper sent his blood boiling. She shook her head slowly as he sat down on the bed beside her, sensing that something wasn't quite right.

"James…Yusef was the traitor. You think you've been betrayed but I promise you weren't the only one." She whispered sadly. "He worked for Quantum, and it turns out it was all part of the plan. He would find different women and when they went off on assignments Quantum would pretend to kidnap him in order to get what they wanted, and I'm a number in the long list of women he has loved." She replied quietly. James then looked at her, and really looked at her. She looked tired and upset, yet so distressed and angry over the events that had happened in the past month. She had been hurt and betrayed too, perhaps more so than him even though he was still secretly heartbroken over what had happened.

"So he hasn't even bothered to come and see if you are alright? No phone call to the hospital…nothing?" He asked anger over coming him as he clenched his fists in sheer fury. He couldn't imagine how someone could do that to her. She always seemed so put together, so sure of everything and herself, yet now she looked a little broken, and vulnerable and he wasn't sure whether or not he could keep his temper in regards to someone who had done this to her.

"No, he hasn't." She answered. "But I don't deserve it. James what I did to you was awful, and even though you're here I still don't forgive myself. What I did was wrong and it was a terrible judgement, but it cannot be changed now." She told him turning her head away so he couldn't see her face. She couldn't bear to look at him anymore, she couldn't see the hurt or anger in his eyes reflected back at her because that was worse than death itself.

Sighing as he put his gun back into his pocket he gently took her hand, she was surprised at this, she thought she'd never see him again and now he had hold of her hand once more.

"Vesper…you look exhausted, you need to sleep." He said calmly, still a little stiff but a lot warmer than he had been when he first entered the room. She wasn't going to argue with him and slowly shifted back so she could rest her head on the pillows.

"Are you going to come back?" She asked keeping a tight hold of his hand, but he pulled away, only for a fraction of a second in order to stroke the hair back from her face.

"I will be back first thing tomorrow; I have a few matters I need to take care of." He promised her, and on an impulse he leant down and gently placed his lips on her forehead, before stroking her cheek with the pad of his thumb and leaving without another word, allowing Vesper to get some much needed rest.

_Which was more than could be said for what he was going to do to Yusef._

Okay guys, so there's the next chapter up; I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing. Please leave a review and tell me what you liked, what you weren't so keen on…or whatever you like! Reviews keep me motivated. Thank you! By the way the story will be changing to an M pretty soon so just thought I would warn you! Much love, TheBitterAftertaste xxx


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks so much for all the positive reviews. I was asked what gets me in the mood to write and I will say Taylor Swift guys… for any fiction you can find a song of hers to fit it, hope this isn't a disappointment. TheBitterAftertaste x

_It was in her mouth, her lungs, and her stomach…all around her. Water clouded her vision and everything seemed to move in a slow, sluggish pace. It was dark, yet when she looked up she could see specks of light shining through. She was completely trapped, a metal cage surrounding her as she desperately banged on the doors, trying in vain to knock down the barriers that were keeping her there. Then all of a sudden, James was there. She tried to scream for him, to beg him to help her as she clutched his hands in sheer desperation; only to find him pulling away as he slowly disappeared from view. It was getting darker…so much darker…_

"Vesper…" A voice woke her up as James sat beside her; a cold flannel mopping the sweat from her brow and sat up, whimpering in pain as she moved too quickly, but not caring.

"It's alright…you're here, it was just a nightmare." He soothed tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, and encouraging her to lay back. She did as he wanted though her heart was still pounding in her chest from the scare she had had.

"You…walked away…" she whispered tears in her eyes, if she had been in her right frame of mind she would have been embarrassed of crying in front of him. She cried rarely as she saw it as a sign of weakness, but what had happened had felt so real and so…_final_ she could've sworn it had been true. She felt his familiar hands entwined with hers and that provided some relief as to how she was feeling at that particular moment.

"I will _never_ walk away Vesper…I walk away from a lot of things, but I will never walk away from you." He promised slowly raising her hand to his lips and pressing a gentle kiss upon it. For the first time she fully looked at him and saw he had a deep scratch on his cheek and numerous bruises on his arms. Bruises and cuts she could've _sworn_ he didn't have yesterday.

"Where did you go yesterday?" She asked curiously, making him sigh as he knew he'd have to give her an answer. She was always so _bloody_ observant. He wasn't going to tell her till she at least came out of hospital and had recovered somewhat, but he had a feeling she would be able to see straight through his lies if he told her something that was false.

"I…paid a little visit to Yusef." He admitted quietly, unable to meet her eyes as he stared at the floor. She pieced two and two together and her face immediately paled. Surely it wasn't that important for him to be caught _immediately. _As soon as possible of course but it meant he had travelled all the way back to London only to come back again overnight.

"James…Did you kill him?" She whispered, keeping her voice low as she was aware doctors and nurses popped in all the time. She was half expectant, yet half dreading the answer that he was going to give her.

"Yes…I killed him" He mumbled slowly facing her again, his brow furrowed slightly. He didn't feel remorse, nor did he feel pity for the man who could've potentially destroyed his and Vesper's future, and more importantly could've destroyed Vesper herself. He knew what it was like to be put under that much pressure, but to be torn in between two people she must've cared about was a terrible position to be put in, and although he was angry when he saw her handing over the money that day in Venice, he now knew why she did it. To protect both the men she was in love with, or she had been in love with where Yusef was concerned. What she did was loyal, and it was an act of love yet that coward had simply tossed her to the side as if she were nothing, even though she risked her life for him. Just thinking about it made tense up as his mouth twitched in anger. Instead of losing his temper, like he most _definitely_ had done with Yusef he rubbed her hand gently between his.

"You risked your life for him. For me…for both of us and this is how he treats you. He was a coward who needed to die Vesper. He didn't deserve to be on Earth, because he was putting other women through exactly the same thing as you were put through. Only you are the one who matters to me, and he had to pay." He told her his jaw tightening as he spoke, obviously becoming angry just thinking about what damage Yusef could've potentially caused.

Vesper sighed and calmed herself. She had been in a relationship with him for such a long time it was easy to forget just how badly he had betrayed her. She didn't blame James for what he had done, not only could it have ruined her but it could've ruined his reputation as an agent as well, so when it came to it there was not much more he could do to put things right than kill the man who it all traced back to.

"I know you won't ever forgive me for what I've done to you James…" she started tears building up in her eyes once more as he shook his head quietly and quickly used his thumb to brush the oncoming tears away. Frightened at how much it hurt him when he saw her upset or distressed.

"There is nothing to forgive Vesper; you did what you thought was right and I wouldn't ever judge you for that." He told her, before leaning in and gently pressing his lips against hers, feeling her slowly respond. Though they had been given another chance they knew a lot of things were going to be thrown their way, whether they could withstand it and come out still together remained to be seen, but both were happy at that moment, in a small private room amongst the sterile sheets.

A/N: Okay guys hopefully you liked it! Please review it means so much! TheBitterAftertaste. xxx


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A/N: Hey everyone, sorry it has taken me so long to upload a new chapter, so many deadlines for University ugh! Anyways, this is for Nicky, who is my James, and she is an absolutely amazing friend! Love you!

Vesper stayed in the hospital for another week, the Doctors wanted to make sure that the excess water in her lungs had gone completely and that she wouldn't suffer from any after effects of the medication she had been taking before discharging her from the unit. It couldn't come any sooner for her, she wasn't the type of person who laid in bed doing nothing all day; it irritated her more than anything that she was so useless.

She was sat with James; her hand entwined with his like always, both too afraid to let go of each other in case Vesper disappeared before his very eyes when the Doctor arrived, checking her vitals before smiling at her anxious face.

"Well Ms Lynd I think it's time to let you go finally, I can see you won't get much better sitting in here, though I do have some restrictions." The Doctor told her as she nodded, not really paying much attention though James was. "Whilst you are free to leave, I want you to rest; you do not have to stay in bed all day and I will allow gentle exercise but nothing too strenuous. No running, jogging or other sports for at least a month, your lungs have taken enough already." He replied raising his eyebrow as Vesper nodded.

"Okay I've got it…no exercise…I understand…" She said quickly already standing up to pack her clothes into a suitcase that James had brought down with her belongings in it. James frowned knowing she wasn't paying attention to the Doctor's advice but would make _sure_ she would follow his rules, regardless of whether she wanted to or not. He stood up resting his hands on her waist and pulling her back gently.

"Vesper listen to him, because I know all you'll do is complain later when I won't let you go out and run around God knows what…" He told her as Vesper bit her lip, nodding at the Doctor once more to tell him she acknowledged his words.

"Then you are free to leave, but if you suffer from any breathing difficulties, shortness of breath, abnormal heart rate… you need to return." The Doctor told her before leaving them to pack. As soon as he had Vesper went to start packing again, but James pressed his hands to her cheeks making her look at him.

"Vesper, you need to listen to what he says, I can't lose you. Thinking I had was enough." He whispered, leaning in and gently placing a tender kiss on her lips. Just seeing the worry in his eyes as he told her this made Vesper reconsider getting back on her feet immediately. She didn't want to lose him either, they had come so far together…gotten through so much that it seemed pointless to even risk it again.

"Alright…I promise…" She whispered against his lips, responding to his kiss, her tongue gently running across his bottom lip, both springing apart when the heard a clearing of the throat, shocked to find M stood there, a less than amused look on her face.

"I hope I'm not interrupting." She murmured in that icy cold voice that made Vesper shiver the first time they had met before the mission was assigned to her. "Yet we have urgent matters to discuss."

"What sort of matters?" James asked automatically, threading his hand through Vesper's; he had an inkling about what this was all about but didn't want to assume.

"Ms Lynd. You have put me in a very difficult position I hope you understand…" she began, keeping her eyes fixed firmly on the woman in front of her. "Not only did you betray my agent, you betrayed the whole of MI6, putting the country and those in it at risk." She told her, only pausing for breath a moment before continuing. "I'm sure you acknowledge there are a lot of outraged people who are out for your head, and being in charge of MI6 I should rightfully hand you over to them." She told her, not allowing the mask of expressionlessness to shift from her features. Vesper must've looked worried, because she only paused for another few moments before continuing once more. "However… Bond is my best agent, and if you were to disappear he would be no use to me, so, after speaking in your favour they have agreed to let you live." She replied, watching James physically exhale in relief.

"Thank you M." He uttered, never meaning something so much in his life. He knew how easily she could have been put to death, and it wouldn't have been fast either.

"James. You know very well she isn't safe. Just because the officials have said so it does not mean there won't be anyone who tries to take matters into their own hands." She told him as James nodded. "Not to mention Ms Lynd you have made an enemy of Quantum now. They did not receive the money and they have now got to deal with the death of three of their top agents." She told her. "You are a wanted woman, so much so we have taken the liberty of giving you a new identity; you will not be able to return to work or your home, so we have allocated a space for you in London which will be given to you on arrival." She told her as Vesper nodded numbly; she was completely overwhelmed by all the information that was given to her.

"She doesn't need a space M; she'll be living with me." James informed her; M was never surprised by things, but it was strange to see him completely head over heels for this woman. _He had to be for how she betrayed him. _Before Vesper herself M would have never thought that James would settle down, but looking now it seemed he was going to.

"Alright." She said doubtfully, both seeming to leave Vesper out of the conversation whatsoever. "I will see you back in my office in two weeks Bond." She added before walking out. James sighed before running his hand through his hair, instantly replacing it with a hand on Vesper's waist.

"It will be alright…I'm here to look after you." He whispered in her ear before gently placing a kiss on her earlobe.

"I hope so." She whispered resting her hand over his, knowing that wouldn't necessarily be true.

Okay hope this made up for it! I promise I won't take so long to update next time! Much Love xxx


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